I am a bit ashamed of not having discovered this song earlier, but thank goodness I stumbled on it a few weeks ago online whilst browsing around YouTube.com. Since then this song has been playing in my car constantly.

Let me introduce to you Mika, a singer who was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a Lebanese mother of Syrian-Lebanese descent and an American father. A lot of you might probably know the song… ‘Relax, Take it Eaaaaasy‘… well Mika is the man behing that song. And he has recently launched another great single which simply praises big beautiful curvy ladies. The song is aptly name ‘Big Girl… You Are Beautiful!’.

Besides loving this song because it is truly about time full figured women get some love in the music scene, the piece is simply up beat and just makes you want to get off your chair, dance and celebrate your curves! Woo hoo! The video is great and the plus size women dancing along look gorgeous and sexy too.

Some snippets from the lyrics of the song, which stand out for me…

You take your girl
And multiply her by four
Now a whole lot of woman
Needs a whole lot more

Right on! And also…

No need to fantasize
Since I was in my braces
A watering hole
With the girls around
And curves in all the right places

Please share this with every curvy lady you know, I am sure it will make her day!

Ladies, today is Love Your Body Day! This is an initiative being organized by Hollywood Now, and among its advocated are plus size celebrities Mia Tyler and Chenese Lewis. If you live in the Hollywood Area, then I suggest you head down to the celebrations today between noon and 4pm. Everything is taking place at:
Plummer Park - Fiesta Hall
1200 N. Vista Street
West Hollywood, CA

However do visit the Love Your Body Day website for up to date details and information.

In the meantime, here are the 6 ultimate rules every woman should following today to make is indeed a special and meaningful Love Your Body Day!

1. Accept yourself as you are.
2. Your weight is not your worth, so you cannot even look at the scales today, let alone go on them.
3. Quit hating yourself and your body. Turn all the negative energy into positive energy, and start loving yourself today. You deserve it!
4. Accept that every body is beautiful. There is no perfect body, no right or wrong shape. Every body is special and beautiful.
5. Have confidence in yourself!
6. Real beauty comes from within, so although it is definitely important to take care of your physical appearance, do not let it determine how you feel about yourself and how you live your life.

Hat tip to Moe, from Big Girl Blue, for this excellent find! Did you know that Love Your Body Day is coming up on October 21st? This is a great initiative being put together by Hollywood NOW. On this day ladies are urged to forget their ‘flaws’ and celebrate their unique attributes!

Whether you are plus size or skinny, this is the day when all women celebrate real beauty:

• Real beauty comes from within!
• Every body is beautiful.
• Accept yourself as you are!

This day’s highlight is the event being held on the day between noon and 4:00pm which will feature signers, actors, dancers and comedy. Plus a fashion show where real women strut their stuff could definitely not be missing from such an event.

Admission is free, plus there will be complimentary massages, make-overs and mini manicures. The event will be held at Plummer Park (Fiesta Hall), 1200 N. Vista Street, West Hollywood, California. Oh how I wish I lived in California right now… I would definitely not miss this sure to be great event.

Now the cherry on the cake: the event will be hosted by none other than Mia Tyler, who will also be signing copies of a brand new 2008 calendar named Flawless Calendar, which will be launched during this event.

If you are interested in getting to know more about this event, and perhaps would like to attend, then visit the official Love Your Body Day website for further details.

If anyone reading this blog is going, make sure to let us all know how it goes, by commenting to this post.

Of course, from our end we will all be celebrating Love Your Body Day!

I was reading a very interesting article by Elizabeth McMeekin today which I had to share with you all. The first thing that struck me is that like me, Elizabeth thinks that sometimes it is just too confusing to get around all the sizes and numbers when shopping around. It is already quite a hurdle trying to find items to suit your body type, budget and taste. But you also have to make sure you get the size right, and understand what the size you are looking at really means. With different sizes in the US, Europe, the UK and beyond, it’s quite a lot of numbers to deal with and get used to!

Elizabeth continues to argue how, although clothing lines for the ‘real woman’ are popping up everywhere, places like the UK (and Europe as well in my opinion) are still lacking glamorous plus size icons real women can look up to. She mentions Nigella Lawson as being one of the few, though there is still a lot more progress to be made.

We are also introduced to Jacqui Kelly, a size 20 who being fed up with the women’s fashion options in store, decided to introduce her own plus size clothing line called Chesca which can be found in John Lewis and House of Fraser stores.

Stina Scott also recounts her experiences shopping for clothes. Like me she sometimes wears a size 16 or a size 20 (and anything else in between) depending on who is making and marking the clothes. Stina stresses how shopping for formal plus size clothing can be an utter nightmare. I understand Stina’s concerns, and at the same time is makes me wonder whether these plus size ladies have ever considered online shopping as a viable option for their fashion needs. Because when I hear people like Stina recounting such experiences, my initial reaction often is… “Oh poor ladies! If they only knew about the online plus size stores such as IGIGI, Kiyonna and Sydney’s Closet, which truly offer a viable shopping options to full figured women as they provide beautiful, quality formal attire and dresses. If only!”

Elizabeth concludes by giving plus size women, especially in the UK, 5 tips for a successful and satisfying shopping experience, including not limiting your search for dark colors only, being aware of fashion and trends and also making an impact with accessories and shoes.

I would definitely expand the list to 6 tips, and dare I say I would truly put my tip in the first spot as it would save full figured ladies lots of headaches, and make them find the items they needs:

Try shopping online! There is a multitude of online shopping stores specializing exclusively in plus size fashion, formal wear, swimwear and more. Take a look at the fabulous options these stores offer, before even attempting to hit the high streets for shopping!

Some news today which is too good for you to miss out on…

• Evans, the leading UK plus size clothing store, has won the ‘Plus Size’ category in the 2007 LK High Street Fashion Awards.
  
  

• An article by Keiko Morris about how plus size retailing is becoming very popular and hot, as demand for stylish clothes for full figured women in sizes 14 and over increases.
• Plus size modeling is booming in Australia, as this article by Dawn Gibson shows! More curvy models are being signed up by tops agencies.
• Are you having trouble finding the right swimsuits? Read these tips and tricks for choosing carefully the most appropriate choice.

I must be honest with you, I had never heard of Lara Kulpa until I recently read an interview she held with ‘Back In Skinny Jeans’ blog. However I’m very glad I got to know about Lara, as she is a true inspiration to myself, and I hope she will be the same for all readers here.

Lara is an example of a plus size lady living life to the full, embracing her size and not letting any of society’s stereotypes get in the way of her dreams and goals. She is an aspiring plus size model with an appetite for life and success. Besides, she is also an internet marketing consultant and SEO (search engine optimizer).

Go on an find out more about Lara by reading the interview I cam across… this is part 1, whilst this is part 2.

The LA Times has featured last week featured plus size ‘activist’, model and actress Joy Nash in an article last week. You will surely recall Joy Nash from the very popular YouTube video she put out called the ‘Fat Rant’, which has created a great stir. Well looks like Joy managed to create a really big stir and even caught the attention of the LA Times! The paper has interviewed Joy in an article published last week, which you can read here.

As always it is absolutely great to see strong plus size women be so successful, and get acknowledgment and exposure in the mainstream media and such a reputable publication.

Hat tip to Corinna Markis for the news.

1. Being able to create Pasazz.net first and foremost. This website is like my baby and I love helping other plus size women find fashionable clothing in their size.

2. Chocolate! Although I am quite health conscious and I do strive to eat well and exercise (when I have time!), not being on a strict regime to keep me a certain weight lets me enjoy very yummy things. Including chocolate, my one true passion. Hehehe…

3. Being able to wear beautiful clothes from top designers in the industry like IGIGI, Missphit and Monif C.

4. Being plus size, and active online, has throughout the years made me get to know some pretty great people including the staff at IGIGI, Missphit, Sydney’s Closet, Chenese Lewis, Anna Nicole and her lovely mother Dorez at Jahqoi… and so many other like minded bloggers like Glen and Mopie.

5. I love being the person who breaks the mood when a group of girlfriends start talking about diets and losing weight. Being the ‘different’ voice, and challenging the thin stereotype often surprises people, and that gets them thinking. That, to me, is awesome.

This post is part of the meme/contest by Problogger: Top 5 Group Writing Project. Keep on reading in the next few days for a roundup of my favorite posts taking part in this ‘contest’.

One of the two ‘plus size’ contestants in the current season of America’s Next Top Model, Diana Zalewski, has just been eliminated from the contest. Apparently Diana failed to impress judges and was sent home because according to them she lacked the “fire and passion” required to be successful in the modeling industry.

BuddyTV.com have some excellent commentary on this elimination, as well as the whole issue with American’s Next Top Model wanting to include more ‘plus size’ models in the contest. Diana has been in fact interviewed exclusively by BuddyTV.com and you can actually hear Diana recount her experiences being part of American’s Next Top Model. Then in a very interesting article, Mel asks whether America’s Next Top Model really want more ‘plus size’ models on the show. Great commentary and worth a read!

So this leaves Whitney Cunningham as the only remaining curvy model on the show. How long until she is eliminted you think? I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble here, but I think it will be another few years until we see a plus size model being crowned winner in America’s Next Top Model. I hope I am proved wrong.

I went around the high street shops this morning. It’s a beautiful day here today, although it is quite windy, the sun is shining and therefore it feels divine outside. So I thought it was a perfect day for some high street strolling and window shopping. I was also long overdue with buying my boyfriend an anniversary present! So after finally buying my boyfriend a fantastic present (well I thought so anyways!) I decided to visit my favorite plus size clothing store in Malta, Evans. I love the fashion these guys provide. They’re the only store in Malta, in my humble opinion, that offer full figured women real stylish options, and they do not carry anything that would remotely make you look like a tent!

Since Evans online only ships to the UK (big sad face), I often visit the shop down the street to see what new stuff they have. Although I must day the selection online is much wider than what is available at the store here, it’s a very good selection still, and today I found a jem! I bought their Pink Color Block Cami, which at £25.00 was real good buy. I loved the colors and pattern of this top as soon as I saw it: it’s very vibrant and yet not over done. The V-neck is very sexy, enhances the bosom area, without showing off too much. The tie back detail ensures that your waist is hugged as it should be, shaping you up and not covering the curves. The longer styled top also adds height, which is always a plus!